Tuesday, September 19, 2017

It was sure a dark and scary night when Hurricane Irma rolled right through our town. We were all hiding in our hurricane shelter (aka the walk in master closet.)

Mommy had everything set up in there perfectly (well, except for having to be in our crate for safety reasons which I, Lily Belle, did NOT like one bit!)

There was no way Mommy was taking out all of her clothes. She said if the roof came down all her clothes would help protect us.

We listened to the emergency weather radio to track where the storm was. It was a crank up radio which worked well. The closet tho was very hot with no air moving around.

First we had some tornados come visit our immediate area. That's what took out the power. Then Irma hit our little town at 12:54 am. None of us were happy with the noise she was making. It was really creepy and even Daddy was quite nervous. Mommy hung on to our crate for dear life. Daddy hung on to Mommy. Jesus held us all.

It was an experience one does not forget!

Irma stayed well until morning light. When we went out early morning to potty, We were hooked to harnesses and leashes. The winds were 75mph and we were not going to use any pee-pads either!

We lost lot's of branches, plants and trees. We had our 5 back living room windows all pouring in water which went down the walls and onto the carpet. Lost 4 window screens. Kitchen window frame shifted and now have a 1/2" gap to the outside. Driveway lights broke and damaged from debris flying around. Front door frame shifted and gap also to the outside. Had to toss all our food in both refrigerators out. And...that's just some of the damage!

But we survived and compared to many, we are in good shape. We are BLESSED. Our hearts break for everyone who suffered.

We were able to find a place 2 days after the storm that had power and we rented it and moved there for now. We tried to stay in our house but being Florida and still hot here, we were all getting sick from the 91 degree temp inside the house.

Our entire sleeply little town was deserted. No one had power. Nothing open around here at all. No gas, no water, no stores..... Thank goodness for FEMA setting up a emergency distribution station here. We were able to get bottled water from them along with some food.

Our house finally got power back on after 6 days. Some parts of our community are still without. Trust me when I say, the Linemen from all over are working really hard. God bless them all!

Mommy immediately filed a claim with our insurance company. On Saturday Rusty came out to dry out the carpet and walls. He peeled back the wet & stinky carpet, cut holes in our walls and put in 2 really loud fans.

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The insurance adjustor came today and went through all the damages with Mommy. He said, now it's just a waiting game. He had no idea how long it would be before we hear back from them.

We're all crabby and tired. Plus they started up the work on the kitchen again. Mommy is pulling her hair out and will be bald shortly.

About the only thing Mommy can find around here is our dog food and treats. Life is good!

Saturday, September 9, 2017

We are as prepared as we can be for Hurricane Irma. We will start sheltering ourselves in the hallway then move to the closet when the worst comes thru here in Central Florida. We already have high winds, some rain and very dark skies. We are under a tornado watch right now.

Talk about timing.... Tuesday we started a complete kitchen remodel. Thanks to my very generous friend Lucille who passed away in May. She arranged before passing to have our entire kitchen remodeled. We have only a refridge in there. Good thing is, we have been stocking up for a while now with canned goods and propane for our grill.

Lily doesn't like change and has been freaking out because we have the entire kitchen contents all over the house. Because of the storm, we had to move stuff back into the empty kitchen to make room for packing up house contents for the storm. I know Muffin will sleep the majority of the time. It is supposed to hit around 2am Sunday/Monday. Muffin is very hard of hearing and won't hear a thing. Plus, she's a good sleeper. Lily will be very unhappy in the crate (and we will give her some sedation.)

We have come to some conclusions.....
Our house needs dusting!
Prepping for a hurricane is a nightmare!
No one is happy here.
I can finally say "shit's about to hit the fan!" (And mean it this time.)

We pray and pray hard that the house holds up well and doesn't disappoint us. It was built in the early 80's so we have been saying extra prayers. Worst case, will evacuate to our local shelter. As of now we're supposed to get hit hard.

We will do our best to keep family and friends updated throughout the storm via Facebook.

Friday, May 26, 2017

Little did we know that when Mommy went back to work in August for a neighbor who needed help, the evil "C" word would come into play.

This is the story of Lucille.

Lucille had back surgery and we thought the surgery went bad. Lucille had problems walking and was in horrible pain in her right hip. Because she could not take care of herself, the family hired Mommy to take care of her. Mommy would cook, clean, take her to the Dr's & even walk her Labrador dog Joey. Mommy would take her out for lunches and host dinners at our house with her friends. Mommy and Lucille became quick friends. They had a lot in common. And Lucille loved doxies too! It was supposed to be a part time job but became full time very quickly.

In October after having tests done, we received the call that a grapefruit size tumor was found in her abdomen and it ate her entire right hip apart. It was uterine cancer. You see Lucille had uterine cancer 10 years ago and it came back. Mommy and Lucille shuffled off to Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa for 6 weeks. Then Mommy had to find her an assisted living facility to live in. Mommy had to find her dog Joey a new forever family (bcuz Muffin wouldn't let him come live with us.)

In between the numerous visits to Moffitt, Mommy had to pack up Lucille's entire house and move it all to a storage facility. Mommy supervised all the numerous contractors she hired to fix up the house to get it up for sale. Mommy had to sell her car.

Many surgeries, blood clots, stents and tests were done. Mommy was there with Lucille all the way.

Last Monday while talking to Mommy and holding her hand, Lucille slipped into a coma. Lucille was in transition. Mommy spent just about the entire week, day and night with Lucille. Mommy held her hand tight and talked to her continuously.

On early Sunday morning, Lucille left for her journey Home.

Lucille was a cancer warrior! She battled with grace, dignity and courage. She was 68.

On the way, she stopped at the Rainbow Bridge to gather her pack who was anxiously awaiting for their Mama. She is now dancing in heaven with her beloved husband Bob and I'm sure chatting up a storm with her sister Clair.

Mommy said we have to remember Lucille with love in our hearts. Remember the fun we provided her during the rough times. Remember the love she had for all of us. She gave us great head scratches too!

Mommy misses her "little bird" as she lovingly called Lucille. A complete stranger who entered her life 9 months ago and left as family.

Mommy has been working hard getting Lucille's affairs all in order for the family. They are from Canada. Mommy is waiting their arrival at our door any minute. It will be a very busy weekend for all of us. They will be cleaning out Lucille's storage facility and Mommy is hosting a memorial at our house on Sunday. Lucille always loved Mommy's strength and her ability to get any job done.

Mommy looked up at the heavens last night and told Lucille "we're doing ok."

Life changes quickly friends! Love them all while they are still here.

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Many of you may remember the very special mailbox that Mommy and her brother Bob made for G-Ma & G-Pa Bob many, many years ago (like 9 years). Think we've posted a picture of it before on our blog.

Well, Bob thought little Muffin might have been getting a swelled head having her very own fancy pants mail box out front. So, this is what he made Mommy for Christmas this year.....

Mommy is so thrilled! She can't wait to put it out front. (We had to take down the Muffin one a while back because the paws rotted from the sprinklers and the sun. Mommy is going to repair it and put it out back in the garden.)

Sunday, September 4, 2016

It's so hard for us to believe that today marks 1 year since we pulled into the Florida driveway and said "we're home."

While it's been a tough year for us, we have turned this house into a HOME. Home is where the heart is, and our hearts are truly here to stay.

Lily and Muffin are doing well (except for Lily's skin condition.) They love this house too. Lot's of outdoor time in the sunshine, running around inside, chasing each other all over the place and they love laying in the big window where they can see all the critters outside.

Rolf and I have been busy. New washer & dryer, new roof, new A/C, new locks on the doors, (next week will be new garage door opener bcuz it died yesterday,) new plantings, peeling wallpaper, painting inside and now working on painting the outside too. While one is never happy with the expense, that's what happens with an older home.

I am now working part time taking care of a neighbor here. I go to work in the golf cart and dress in shorts. The perfect job right now for me. While the caregiving aspect brings back many memories, I am happy to be helping someone in need. Oh, and this lady has a D-O-G! His name is Joey and he's a beautiful black lab. He's a mushy love bug. Some day I'll introduce him to Lily and Muffin.

We're sorry we're not around much but all the above has taken up so much time. But in the end, all this time spent has once again turned G-Ma & G-Pa Bobs house into a HOME. It's a home where we are all loved.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

I've got some boo-boo's! I've got 2 teeth that are causing me BIG problems. One on each side of my mouth. They will be pulled out next Wednesday. I've already made 2 trips to the Vet's in 2 days. I was very bad and refused to take my antibiotics for the infection. Mommy took me back and they gave me the big needle in the butt instead. I nipped at the Tech. She was dumb. My face is swollen and you can see I don't feel good. She put her face too close to mine. Guess she needs to be retrained!

Mommy is nervous about the surgery. When I had a tooth pulled 3 years ago, I had lot's of complications. It cost twice the price as normal because I had to have 5 x-rays on the one tooth. It kept breaking and breaking. Then I started to wake up while they were working on me. Then my heart rate drastically dropped then stopped. I pulled through. But it was rough going. Guess Mommy is allowed to be nervous.

Last week was very busy here. We had to have a new roof put on. It was LOUD and Lily and I didn't like it one bit. It took 2, 11 hour days to complete the work. Now that it's done, it really looks nice.

We get a new living room air conditioner installed next week. Not that we wanted to spend the money mind you, but this one broke and can't be repaired. It's too old. It will be nice when the living room, dining room & kitchen are cool again. With the hot, hot weather we've been having, it's pretty dang warm in this part of the house.

Lily has been having some flare-up's on her skin again. Good thing we had a follow up appointment already scheduled with the dermatologist. She is back to getting baths 3 times a week. Plus she got some new spray for her skin. Hopefully it will clear again. She was doing really, really great! Dr. said that we may have to test for Cushings Disease if it doesn't go away.

Mommy has applied for some jobs she found on the internet. But no phone calls back yet. We think the biggest problem is No Habla Espanol! She can buy a beer, get to the bathroom and say HBO words in Spanish. But that's about it.

That's it in a nut-shell here. Just gonna sit on the couch with my swollen face and pass out from the pain med's again today. Oh happy day!

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

I can't even believe it has been 525,600 minutes since you left us. That's a whole year already and yet it feels like just yesterday at times. I miss you so much Dad and my heart still hurts terribly.

Obviously, it was your time to go, but I was not ready. I thought we would have had much more time together. More time to have fun. More time to talk. More time to laugh. More time to love. More time to be your daughter in life, not in death. I was not ready to throw myself on my sword. Like so many others, I just wanted more time! Believe me, I get it. We don't get to choose. And personally, I think that sucks!

I thank God every single day that HE chose YOU to be my Dad. For that I am blessed.

I love you Pop. Oh how I wish you could hear me tell you that one more time.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

It's our first Father's Day without our G-Pa Bob here with us. We know you are with us in spirit, but it's not the same as having you HERE. We love and miss you every day. We will try to smile today while thinking of you. But.... we know our tears will still flow.

Muffin and I are gonna share our bones with our Pop today. We will give him lot's of licks too. We will even let him snuggle with us and take a nap. That's what love is all about.

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Mommy had massive computer problems the other day. Her laptop decided to throw up and die. She had to take it to see the Geek's and they had to crash it the rest of the way to fix it. Good thing she just backed it up a few days before. Now Daddy is trying to reload all of her programs again. If my picture shows up, then it's working!

Our garden of tomato's have been growing like crazy in this hot, hot, hot Florida sun. We've already picked a ton of Sweet 100's (the little cherry one's) and a boatload of big tomato's. Mommy spent the other day making homemade sauce out of the big one's. Daddy said the sauce was the BEST he's ever eaten. Mommy also made some pesto sauce from the fresh basil.

Mommy had to make an emergency trip to see an Opthamologist on Friday. Her stoopid insurance plan made her go an hour away vs seeing the specialist right here in town. She must have been having sympathy pains for when I had my eye surgery, bcuz she has a cyst in her left eye lid and has to have surgery on June 6th. At least it is not cancer! Then to make matters worse, on the way home they stopped at Walgreens to have her antibiotic rx filled. After waiting an hour in the store to have it filled, they told her that her stoopid insurance plan would not cover this drug to be filled at their pharmacy. She paid for it out of her pocket. To have taken it to CVS across the street means it wouldn't be filled until the next day. CVS is extremely busy and it takes hours upon hours to have an rx filled. It was a no win situation.

We are so very thankful to everyone who participated in the auction over at the Dachsies with Moxie. It was so wonderful that our many furends came out in support.

And our little wolf friend Baxter whom we've followed for years, was so very generous to host his own tiny little auction for me. In fact, that reminds me.....we have to go over to see who won all the doxie goodies. He even had Facebark furends who just wanted to contribute.

We are blessed beyond measure!

I had to go see my Vet, Dr. Thomas to show him how very well I am looking these days. Being cancer free made him smile a very BIG smile. Can you see that I smiled with him? My skin is clearing up too and he was most pleased.

The Florida heat has been hitting us hard these past few weeks. This is how we are handling it! We're only allowed outside for a few minutes at a time. Night's have been wonderful as we patrol the 'hood in our golf cart. We've not caught anybody doing bad, but the neighbors are happy to know they are safe with us on duty.

Got our fingers crossed that this will post with no problems. We are trying to coordinate the laptop and the smart phone pictures together for ease of use.

Lily

Muffin

Who We Are

Hi friends, I'm Lily Belle and my sister's name is Muffin. We live in beautiful upstate NY. We own 3 hoomans ~ Mommy, Daddy and Grandpa. We have an awesome life!! There is never a dull moment around here. Hope you enjoy our Blog.